O that I may be true and faithful and not alienate to the service of Sin to the gratifying of my Lusts or the pleasing of the Devil what appertains to thee my God As thou hast increased my stores increase in me thy grace and wisdom that I may mannage these Talents to thy honour and service Humble my Soul under such a load of earthly Blessings am I more deserving than so many thousand others who are not so well supplied and furnished what obligations have I laid upon thee my God to lift me up above so many that I see below me to favour me more than thousands who are in want to fill me with all these good things when others are empty how greatly am I indebted to thy Bounty how shall I discharge my self and make suitable returns with these earthly Comforts bestow upon me thy heavenly blessings sanctifie them to me that they may not be an increase to my guilt but rather a a means of Salvation Bestow upon me a contented mind a poverty of Spirit in the midst of all this plenty that I may enjoy it with moderation and dispose of it with discretion Wean mine affections from the World and all these Vanities that they may be a preparation for greater and more lasting Riches which thou hast laid up in thine Heavenly Sanctuary for them that love and fear thee If these things are so sweet and pleasing to us now conveyed to us at such a distance off and attended with much labour and sorrow how sweet and ravishing will that plenty and those riches be which thou wilt grant at a nearer approach when thou shalt wipe away all tears from our eyes and there shall be no more labour to get and preserve them no fear to lose them nor trouble in the enjoyment What a glorious prospect hast thou given us in thy holy Word of greater and more excellent Possessions of an Inheritance far more worthy of mine acquisition if I now render not my self unworthy of so wonderful a bounty by ill actions or too great a fondness of this present World I am certain my good God what thy Truth hath declared thy Power and Liberality will one day perform in us and for us for thou hast created me for happiness If I will accept of it thou hast designed provided and purchased happiness for me Whilst I live in this World there is but a shaddow in the midst of all these good things that I embrace of true felicity The Cares and Incumbrances the Miseries and Calamities the Pains and the Aches and the Fears and Apprehensions are continually disquieting our minds in the greatest plenty of outward enjoyments and the temptations of Sin and the World will not suffer me to be truly happy Neither can my Soul an Immortal and Heavenly Being Created for the Vision of God be content without thee O my Maker The joy that I now feel is in that relation and interest that I have to and in thee for all these possessions and these enjoyments I look upon my self but as a Stranger and a Pilgrim my Country is Heaven When thou shalt call me thither let not these Honours and Dignities these Riches and this outward Splendour these vain and deceitful Pleasures incumber my Soul or cause it to look back upon these deceitful appearances that I may be ready to shake them off and willing to depart to visit thine Eternal Presence where my blessed Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ will receive and welcome my Soul in the Companies of immortal Spirits and Angels and bestow upon me the Heavenly and everlasting Riches and true Honours Things that eye hath never seen ear hath never heard and can never enter into the heart of man Preserve I beseech thee my good God my Soul and Body to thine Eternal Kingdom where all these wonders of thy Power and Bounty are carefully laid up Amen A Meditation and Prayer upon the Consideration and Sense of Poverty and Want O My Creator and Redeemer my God who hast granted me a Being and placed me in this station of Life destitute of all Worldly Comforts I adore thy Divine Wisdom and am content to undergo all the troubles and inconveniencies that thou shalt think sitting to put upon me I doubt not but as I am thy Creature and Servant as my good Lord and Master thou wilt provide for my subsistence and if the allowance be but small it is more than I deserve at thy hands however it is enough if I can have but a satisfied mind Thou hast promised to supply my wants from day to day and give me meat drink and raiment without which I cannot continue in this Life why shall I doubt of the performance of this thy declaration thy stores are full and thou art rich in bounty able and sufficient by various means to recruit all my wants if the supplies come but sparingly and thou dost allow me but a small pittance if I receive from thee by Retail what others have from thee by Wholesale it is thy will and pleasure that my dependance might be more upon thy Goodness and Providence and that I may be always looking up to thee for the Conveniencies and Necessaries of Life Thy Wisdom O my God knowest what is best for me what is most proper to exercise my patience saith reliance upon thee and my submission to thy holy and heavenly will Who knows but if I were placed in the midst of plenty I should abuse thy temporal mercies and employ them in my own Damnation now I have no such debt to answer for Thou hast recommended unto me contentment in this estate by teaching me to pray only for my daily bread if it be but course it is such as proceed from thy liberal hand and fine enough to maintain this Earthly Tabernacle that must shortly become food to the Worms of the Earth O my God by these troubles of Life it is thy pleasure to wean mine affections from the World and that I may place my chief happiness beyond the Grave that I may live in expectation when thou wilt call me out of this painful and laborious Life to mine Eternal Rest where I shall be no more exercised but in the praising of thy Glorious Majesty in the Quires of Heavenly Spirits I am satisfied O my Heavenly Father in thy Love and Goodness which has never been wanting to me since I was in this World I look upon my mean estate and poverty to be an argument of the reality of thy love and kindness seeing a Lazarus upon a Dunghill was as dear unto thee as the richest and noblest of thy Children seeing so many of thy chosen Servants of the Worthies of former Ages have in this present Life wandered about in Sheep Skins and Goat Skins being Destitute Afflicted Tormented and have suffered greater wants and more pressing necessities than I am reduced to But shall I murmur at thy wise and good Providence when I am reduced to the Condition of
never expect any gracious returns from a Just and Wise God who would not admit neither the Blind nor the Lame to draw near to his Holy Altar to offer Sacrifice tho' of the Priestly Race Levit. 21.18 If under the Law the want of these Members excluded Men from God's Service how much the rather under the Gospel when the noblest Member is wanting the Heart and its Affections A Gospel Worship must be an hearty Worship that only is sufficient to obtain acceptance It was God's Complaint of Israel that they honoured God with their Lips whilst their heart was far from him They are guilty of the same Formality who frequently attend at Prayers without causing their hearts to be concerned in the Devotion it should be therefore our care to stir up our affections with all the considerations of want necessity future advantage experience duty God's presence and whatever may have the greatest influence upon us Fifthly And that our Affections may be the more inflamed we must kindle them with an Holy Zeal which must burn not so much with the sense of want as with an earnest and unfeigned desire to Glorifie our Maker however both may very well contribute to inflame our Affections in the Divine Worship of our God in Prayer Now this Zeal needful in all our Addresses is that holy violence that strains our Affections in religious Duties and gives that perfection to the Action which otherwise they would want it is accompanied with a dissidence of our selves and a strong resolution to worship God with the utmost of our endeavours it is quickned by the fears and apprehensions of being guilty of that prophane sloathfulness which might displease our gracious God and stop the current of his Mercy it sills the Soul full of Jealousie which awakens all its faculties and powers to the performance of the present Duty And as our great Saviour when he expell'd the Merchants and Money-Changers out of his Temple at Jerusalem was animated by a Divine Zeal for God's Glory so a Christian that is govern'd by the same Spirit and Zealous Affection for his God drives out of his mind all worldly Business and considerations of Profit and Advantage that God may be worshipped in this Spiritual Temple the Soul without the interruption and clamours of our sensual and secular Interests where Sin and the Devil commonly insinuate themselves too much John 2.16 Sixthly As there is a care to be taken of our persons and manner of offering up our Prayers that they may be in some measure answerable to God's glorious Perfections and our own vile and mean Estate we must likewise mind the things that we petition for that they be not contrary to God's revealed or secret Will God's Will must regulate ours in all our actions for Christ our Saviour teacheth us by his Blessed Example to be instrumental in as well as desirous of the performance of God's will on Earth and Reason tells us that God being the supreme Agent the great Maker and Protector of the World the Lord and Redeemer of Mankin'd that all our Inclinations and Wills ought to yield homage to his Pleasure in which submission there is this advantage arising to our selves thereby we compass and attain unto the end of all our desires an infallible happiness for the best self-interest is a submission to that wise Agent who is engaged to promote our Felicity and his Glory together according to his promise Rom. 8.28 If in other actions of our life God's Will should be the Rule of our desires how much the rather in that weighty and religious action of Prayer where the Soul and the Body together are to summon all their Faculties and Members for the worshipping of their great Creator and Benefactor for the chief intent of this performance is the magnifying of God's glorious Attributes which we can never do if we suffer any of our desiers to oppose his Will or contradict his Wisdom or question his Alsufficiency and Goodness The want of his Mercy should cause thee O Man to yield to his Wisdom and Power if thou expectest a favourable return from his Bounty thou must learn to court it by a dutiful submission to his Wisdom and Governance both in the things that thou desirest and in the expectation of the time which he judges most seasonable to grant thee thy requests All impatiency in Prayer is guilty of indiscretion of prophane folly of disrespect and disesteem of God's Wisdom and Mercy In this and in all other acts of Devotion Men must learn to prefer his Glory whose goodness they want to the satiating of their own craving and importunate Appetites and to give a check to the furious desires of our corrupt Nature when we find them proceeding beyond the Bounds limited by God and his Will and our real happiness which commonly are unseparable But there is a difference to be observed according to the difference of the things that we desire from God For Spiritual Mercies for Faith Grace Regeneration Strength against Sin Truth Wisdom Knowledge and other Blessings relating to God's immediate Glory and our own Salvation a Petitioner can never be too earnest zealous and impatient Such advantages are to be wrested if I may so speak from our good God by our continual and fervent Prayers Violence condemned in other things is approved of by Christ himself in such as intend to be partakers of Heaven's Kingdom and an Holy importunity in Prayer never returns without a grant of the Request when we ask the divine Riches of God's Grace unless we have like Esau forfeited before all pretensions to it for God is as willing to bestow them as we to seek them and their excellency is such that Men can never have and desire them too much As David therefore whose Soul was insatiable on Earth for Grace and divine Mercies let us not give our selves any rest until we have obtained these Riches and Ornaments of the Soul and the assurances of God's favour But as Earthly prosperity and Blessings relating to our better conveniency on Earth are not of such a value and importance our Requests for these things must be qualified accordingly and because in some Rules they may be prejudicial to our everlasting Interest we are to beg them always with a condescention to the Will and Wisdom of our great God who knows what is best for us and most conducing to our real good To desire them too passionately or without any such condescention is to Idolize the Creature and to prefer it before the Creator it is to give to those Earthly and mean things that affection which is due to God alone and his divine Mercies Nature I confess will be always craving and the sense of our wants will cause us to cry aloud for a relief and remedy but a good Christian must give a check to those natural motions in imitation of Christ our Saviour whose Humanity was loth to taste of the bitter Cup that was prepared for him
and forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O God from whom all Holy Desires all good Counsels and all just Works do proceed give unto thy Servants that peace which the World cannot give that both our Hearts may be set to obey thy Commandments and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our Enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour Amen LIghten our Darkness we beseech thee O Lord and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night for the Love of thy only Son our Saviour Jesus Christ Amen ALmighty God who seest that we have no power of our Selves to help our selves keep us both outwardly in our Bodies and inwardly in our Souls that we may be desended from all Adversities which may happen to the Body and from all evil Thoughts which may assault and hurt the Soul through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Almighty God who alone canst order the unruly Wills and Affections of sinful Men grant to thy People that they may love the thing which thou commandest and desire that which thou dost promise so that among all the sundry and manifold changes of the World our Hearts may surely there be sixed where true Joys are to be found through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Lord who never failest to help and govern them whom thou dost bring up in thy stedfast Fear and Love keep us we beseech thee under the protection of thy good Providence and make us to have a perpetual Fear and Love of thy Holy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O God whose never failing Providence ordereth all things both in Heaven and Earth we humbly beseech thee to put away from us all hurtful things and to give us those things which be profitable for us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen BE merciful O Lord to this Church and Nation punish us not accord-to our deservings but let thy Mercy protect and save us from the Evil hands of all our restless Enemies continue thy Word and Gospel amongst us remit our senseless Divisions open the Eyes and Hearts of all our Dissenting and disaffected Brethren that they may embrace thy Truth set aside all Prejudice and joyn with us thy Servants in the sincere Worship of thee the true God All this we beg for Jesus Christ his sake Amen O God for as much as without thee we are not able to please thee mercifully grant that thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our Hearts through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Almighty God who art a strong Tower of defence unto thy Servants against the face of their Enemies We yield thee Praise and Thanksgiving for our Deliverance from those great and apparent Dangers wherewith we have been compassed We acknowledge it thy goodness that we are not delivered over as a Pray unto them beseeching thee still to continue such thy Mercies towards us to discover all hellish Plots contrived against our King Religion and Country and to disappoint all the black Designs of our Bloody Enemies that all the World may know that thou art our Saviour and mighty Deliverer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Lord our God who upholdest and governest all things in Heaven and Earth Receive our Humble Prayers for our Soveraign Lord and Lady the King and Queen set over us by thy Grace and Providence And so together with them Bless the whole Royal Family with the Dew of thy Heavenly Spirit that they ever trusting in thy goodness protected by thy Power and Crowned with thy gracious and endless Favours may continue before thee in Health Peace Joy and Honour a long and happy life upon Earth and after Death obtain everlasting life and glory in the Kingdom of Heaven by the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ our Saviour Amen BLess we beseech thee O Lord our Bishops Priests and Deacons with true Knowledge and understanding of thy Word and that both by their Preaching and living they may set it forth and shew it accordingly enable them all to be faithful in their great trust in the maintetenance of thy true Religion against the Incroachings of Popery Heresie Schism and Prophaneness Bless the Lords of the Council and all the Nobility Magistrates and Gentry with Grace Wisdom and Understanding of thy Will and Word Give to all Nations Quietness and Peace and to this thy People give Unity and Happiness help the weak-hearted raise up them that fall subdue Satan under our Feet Comfort all that are in Tribulation preserve all that are in danger shew thy pity to Prisoners and Captives Provide for the Fatherless the Widows and all that are Oppressed Have mercy upon all Men. Forgive our Enemies and turn their Hearts Preserve for our Use the kindly Fruits of the Earth And endue us with the Grace of thy Holy Spirit and amend our Lives according to thy Holy Word All this we beseech thee to grant us for Jesus Christ his sake Amen From our Enemies defend us O Christ Graciously look upon our Afflictions Pitifully behold the sorrows of our Hearts Mercifully forgive the Sins of thy People Favourably with mercy hear our Prayers O Son of David have mercy upon us Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear us O Christ Graciously hear us O Christ graciously hear us O Lord Christ O Lord let thy mercy be shewed upon us As we do put our Trust in thee WE humbly beseech thee O Father mercifully to look upon our infirmities and for the Glory of thy Name turn from us all those Evils that we most righteously have deserved and grant that in all our Troubles we may put our whole Trust and Confidence in thy mercy and evermore serve thee in Holiness and pureness of Living to thy Honour and Glory through our only Mediator and Advocate Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen PRevent us O Lord in all our doings with thy most gracious Favour and further us with thy continual help that in all our Works begun continued and ended in thee we may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy mercy obtain eversasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ALmighty God who hast given us Grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their Requests Fulfil now O Lord the desires and Petitions of thy Servants as may be most expedient for them granting us in this World knowledge of thy Truth and in the World to come life everlasting Amen THe Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with us all evermore Amen An Evening Prayer for a whole Family sutable to the times O Merciful God here we thine unworthy Servants are prostrate before thee at the close of this day loaden with thy manifold Mercies to acknowledge the Weaknesses
Evening Prayer for a single Person O Being of Beings the great Creator of the World and preserver of Mankind by whose gracious goodness I am now alive and brought safe through the many dangers and inconveniencies of this mortal Life to the close of this day I humbly acknowledge thy Providence and merciful Protection Thou hast fed me with thy Creatures defended me by thy Power instructed me in thy Truth admitted me into thy Church for these and all other Mercies received from thy Bountiful hand I return thee my homage and Thanks and confess my self unworthy of the meanest of thy Favours by reason of the many Provocations that I am guilty of O Lord I have sinned against Heaven and against thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son my Transgressions are multiplyed every day and mine Iniquities are without number How easily have I yielded to the Power of Temptations how often have I broken thy sacred Laws Gracious God be merciful be merciful to me a Sinner blot out all mine Iniquities and forgive me for the sake of my dear and only Saviour who is dead and intercedes for me Accept his Sacrifice and Mediation for my poor Soul grieved with the sense of Sin Give me true Repentance and that Frame of Spirit and Holy Resolution unto which thou hast promised in thy Holy Word mercy and forgiveness As thou hast begun the Work of Reformation in me perfect it I beseech thee by the continual influences of thy Holy Spirit forsake me not good God nor leave me to my wretched self but let thy Truth and Wisdom direct my Understanding and thy grace govern my Will in the practice of Piety Suffer me not to be overcome by the mistakes and inticements of Sin and Satan defend my Soul from all wicked impressions and infections of the World As thou hast redeemed me for thy self let not Vice nor Error draw me from thee nor the dangerous Allurements of Earthly Vanities but as my dependency is upon thy Power let my expectation of Happiness be from thy Bounty and my delight be in fulfilling thy holy Will Strengthen and increase in me all goodness Let every day bring me nearer to thee and to that Purity and Holiness without which no Man shall see thy Face Time that carries me apace to my cold Tomb minds me of an Eternity of a Resurrection and the last Judgment Prepare me I beseech thee for this last Account and that terrible Day wherein every Man shall give up an account of his Actions before a Righteous and Impartial Judge Grant that I may find Mercy and Favour at the hands of my great Redeemer and be admitted into the Joys of his Paradise And as I am now going to lye me down to refresh my weary Body with rest blessed God be merciful to me this Night protect me from all dangers and Evils Suffer not the Malice of the Devils nor of Wicked Men to hurt this outward Tabernacle nor the precious Soul that is within keep from me all troublesom Dreams and Thoughts and whether sleeping or waking let my Soul be armed with a reliance upon thy Goodness and Power grant me a moderate Rest that I may be better enabled to serve thee in my Generation and proceed on in the Employment unto which thy Providence hath called me In which let my chief aim be to advance thy glory rather than my own fordid Interest and to mind the careful management of all the Talents which thou hast put into my hands that I may as a good Servant and Steward improve and increase them Look in mercy upon all my Relations wheresoever they be let thy Grace thy Truth and Goodness accompany and protect them during their abode here below Crown with the choicest of thy Blessings our Religious King and Queen shield them from the wicked attempts of all their Enemies and give them long Life Health and Prosperity now and at last receive them into everlasting happiness Bless all their Royal Relations give them all Grace to be instrumental in promoting the Interest of thy Truth Godliness and Virtue that they may answer the good ends for which thou hast put much into their Hands Bless all Governours and Magistrates give them Grace to prefer thine Honour and Glory to all other Corrupt purposes whatsoever Defend this Nation from all Plots and Conspiracies defeat the Designs of all our Enemies and disappoint all Combinations against it If thou wilt afflict us good God let it be for a time take not thy Truth and Gospel from us and our Posterity and sanctifie all thy Judgments and Mercies to us that they may effect and produce in us that Reformation and those Graces for which they are intended Spread thy Gospel and Truth all over the World pull down Antichrist let all Nations understand thy Will and readily submit unto it Be merciful unto all Sons and Daughters of Affliction comfort and succour all sick Persons and such as are grieved with the loss of Goods Friends or Relations Be thou their good God and Saviour in thy due time giving them grace to submit to thee to trust upon thee and to expect from thy mercy alone a seasonable and proper Remedy to all their pressures and troubles And now blessed Lord I recommend my self again into thy merciful hands and conclude these my imperfect Prayers with that most perfect Form recommended to us by my good Saviour in whose Name I beg aâ—â— for whose sake I intreat thee O merciful Father grant me these my Requests and all other Mercies which thou knowest needful for my Soul and Body OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Tespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from Evil For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen An Evening Prayer for young Persons and Children O God who hast received me amongst thy Children instructed me in thy Truth and called me to be a Professor of thy Holy Religion Great and merciful Creator who hast been my Proteor and Defender from all dangers look down in mercy upon me and continue thy Favours to me the remaining part of my Life I see and experience every day the manifold expressions of thy goodness Thy Holy Name be praised for them all Give me more and more a Sense of thy mercifulness and a grateful heart that in these tender Years I may learn my great Duty to serve and glorifie thee on Earth and prepare my self for an Eternity for this purpose increase my knowledge and the graces thou hast been pleased to bestow upon me through a good Education of my Religious Parents Bless all my endeavours and theirs imprint thy holy Fear in my tender Soul preserve me from ill Company from the Vices and Errors of
the Times make me truly constant and faithful in the Professionof that Holy Religion unto which I am called Give me a right Understanding of its divine Precepts and grace to practise them in my Life Let thy Word be my Rule thy Truth my guide thy Spirit my Comforter and thy Glory my Reward Preserve me I beseech thee my good God from the Evils unto which I am subject and let my Soul and Body be precious in thy Sight especially this Night into which I am entring let the Merciful Eye of thy Providence preserve me during its mournful shadows from all Spiritual and Temporal Enemies Let thy Holy Angels guard and protect me and bring me safe to the next day to behold and admire the Wonders of thy Creation and Providence in the World Make me useful in my Generation bless all my undertakings and endeavours in my Calling that I may by it advance thy Glory and do good both to my self and others And because our natural Poverty is such that without thee and a continual supply from thy Bounty we cannot possibly subsist gracious God send me all things needful for my Soul and Body let me not depend too much upon the plentiful Provision of these earthly things already made for me but as thou art the Life and Soul of all thy Creatures and without thy Blessing our greatest plenty of good things is altogether unprofitable let the expectation of this Blessing incourage me to depend wholly upon thy favour and stir up my industry in the duties of my Calling and in the service of my Country Bless all my Relations and Parents more especially here name such as are in Affliction grant them long life health and happiness preserve the King's Majesty all my Governours and Teachers inable them all in their places to glorifie thee their God and do good to this Nation and People Defend us all from our Enemies at home and abroad and suffer them not to triumph over us but continue in our days Peace Truth Justice Plenty and Prosperity These and all other Mercies I humbly Beg for Christ Jesus his sake my only Saviour and Mediator who taught us thus to pray OUR Father which art in Heaven hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdome come Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation But deliver us from all Evil For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen LEt thy grace thy Truth and Goodness be with me preserve and keep me now and for evermore Amen Prayers before Meal SEnd down thy Blessing good God upon these thy Creatures that we are now to be partakers of inable them to feed our Bodies and recruit our weakness and strengthen us to serve and glorifie thee on Earth that we may receive from thee the Rewards of thy Servants in Heaven This we beg for Jesus Christ his sake Amen Another Prayer before meat GRacious God we see by these fresh Expressions of thy Bounty that thou art never weary to load us with thy good things Sanctifie them unto us at this present time and us to thy Service through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Profitable Meditation at the sight of a Table spread or covered with Food for our Bodies HOw often have I tasted and felt the goodness of my God! He is that full Ocean of Mercy and Sweetness from whence these Streams proceed by various dispensations and Methods He is that bottomless Fountain that never will be exhausted Here here are tokens of his Love to us and care of our preservation before our Eyes These Creatures are sent to mend the daily breaches of this outward Tabernacle to recruit our Mortal Weaknesses with a fresh supply to corroborate the decaying strength of Nature with new Spirits We see by experience that these Bodies that God hath made he is careful to maintain and by the Influence of the Heavens and the Fruitfulness of the Earth to furnish with all their Wants O wonderful Providence How full and plentiful are thy Stores that so great a share is appointed for me How rich is that Bounty that when all my Fellow Creatures so many Millions in Number are provided vouchsafes me so great a Lot and large Portion He can never want that entertains a good Correspondency with the great Purveyor of Mankind whilst the Avenues and Conveyances are open O shut not up thy mercy from us for let my Estate be never so great and the Provision for my Body be never so large alas these poor senseless Creatures cannot benefit me without thy Blessing accompanies them these morsels may as soon choak as feed me without that invisible Vertue which thou alone canst send along with them I humbly crave it at thy good hands my good God let not my Sins sower or poison these thy Mercies let me not trust too much upon these outward assistances of Life and Health but as by thy daily proceedings thou hast taught me to depend chiefly upon thy Liberality let me look up to and expect from thee daily food and nourishment grant me a thankful Heart never to forget so great a goodness But the sweetness that I am going to relish minds me of the sweetness of that Bounty from whence it proceeds and of the greatness of thy Divine Wisdom that hath baited all necessary actions of our Life with a natural delight and pleasure How ravishing must the Fountain of Goodness be seeing these drops conveyed unto us at such a distance are so pleasing to our Palats God that now entertains my Being so far from his immediate presence intends one day to draw me nearer to himself to live with him for ever then the Divine Goodness shall refresh and comfort me without the cold assistance of inferior things then the smiles of God's Countenance shall be conveyed to us not by Reflections and at second hands but more immediately we shall then see as we are seen and solace our selves during the numberless Ages of an Eternity in the presence of this good God where we shall want neither Food nor Raiment but these corrupt Bodies shall be freed from all the slavery of the Elements and dependency upon them for we shall depend upon our God alone and him only shall we serve For this Corruption must put on Incorruption and this Mortal must put on Immortality O that I might have always in mind that final end of Mankind and use these thy Comforts but not abuse them by excess and gluttony These Bodies which thou hast so wonderfully made and preserves with such care are of that Excellency and designed for those Noble and Divine purposes that they must not be disgrac'd nor polluted with Vice These Creatures thou hast appointed for our Refreshment not for the dishonour or ruine of our Bodies If our Tables overflow how many of our poor